Supreme Court To Hear Cox Communications Case On ISP Copyright Liability

On June 30, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted a petition for certiorari brought by Cox Communications, and denied one brought by Sony in the same matter, following the advice of Solicitor General Sauer. The dispute stems from a massive $1 billion copyright infringement verdict against Cox Communications, in which music publishers (including Sony, Universal, and Warner Music, among others) alleged that Cox was liable for the illegal distribution of 10,017 musical works by the ISPs subscribers. The Fourth Circuit previously affirmed a lower court's ruling that Cox was liable to the plaintiff publishers for contributory infringement, while overturning the lower court's finding of vicarious liability. As a result, both Cox and Sony filed competing petitions for certiorari seeking clarification from the Supreme Court regarding different aspects of ISP copyright liability. The Supreme Court will review two critical questions that could reshape how internet service providers